Luggage handle



Nov. 30, 1954, w. FlNKELs'rElN LUGGAGE HANDLE Filed OCC. 28, 1953 I N V EN TOR.' WILL/:4M FDWELSTEW A2 TTORNEY United States Patent O LUGGAGE HANDLE William Finkelstein, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application October 28, 1953, Serial No. 388,840

1 Claim. (Cl. 1911-57) My invention relates to a luggage matching handle particularly adapted for luggage as Well as any other bag or apparatus that is to be carried.

Heretofore, handles have been made wherein a metal U-shaped brace has been placed upon the top analogous to my invention in Patent No. 1,977,626 of October 23, 1934, and Patent No. 1,977,674 of October 23, 1934.

In the prior art patents it has been found diicul't and expensive to change the covering on the grip portion of the handle when the handle and bag are to be matched.

When wooden sheathing has been covered by a piece of matching fabric the ends have been overlapped and the web of the U-shaped strap has been inserted into the upper recess and to overlap the matching fabric overlapped ends. However, wrinkled edges have been seen between the wall of the recess and the edge of the metal web.

It is an object of my invention to provide a U-shaped matching luggage handle wherein a strip will enhance the attractiveness of a handle and will also ll in the unsightly voids of the prior art handle.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved device of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly effective in use.

`With the above and related objects in View, my invention consists in the details of construction and combina tion of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a handle embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the luggage handle shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the welt piece itself.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the handle partly in section.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of my invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, I show a luggage connecting clip or teardrop, generally designated as A. There are two clips or teardrops A and they serve as a bearing for the free ends of a U-shaped metal member or strap, generally designated as B. A hand grip or grasp, generally designated as C, and preferably made of wood, has a transversely curved lower portion 10 for the fingers to grip and a longitudinally extending recess or groove 12 on the upper portion thereof. The longitudinally extending recess 12 is dened by side Walls 14, 14 and a bottom 16.

The upper groove 12 is continuous with right angle grooves which form the sides of the grasp so that the web of the U-shaped strap is at right angles to its parallel legs 18, 18.

A covering 20 of leather or similar fabric encases the ice grasp C to match the fabric of the suit case. The ends 22, 24 of the covering 20 lie within the recess 12 but are spaced apart in order that there will not be an undue raising of the leather or of the covering if they should overlap.

After the covering 20 is placed over the grip, I take a strip of material, generaly designated as D, which has a welt or bead 26 at each side of a web or joining flat strip 28, made of fabric, leather or synthetic fabric. The center 28 of the strip D is a trifle wider than the width of the web of the U-shaped strip, but the welts 26, 26 lie snugly at the side edges of the strap B and a little higher than the upper surface of the strap in order to wedge the covering 20 against the side walls of the grip.

The welt or bead 26 is adapted to be located between the side edge of the strap B and the inner side of the covering on the vertical wall 14 which partly defines the groove in the grasp and the bead is slightly above the upper surface of the strap.

This welted strip D covers any unsightly edges of the grip covering and also provides an attractive appearance to the handle.

The edges 22, 24 of the covering 20 are spaced apart and suitable nails 30 hold the U-shaped strap B to the grip C. However, the nails 30 penetrate the space between the spaced edges 22, 24 of the covering and hold the strap to the grip. The strap wedges the welts or beads tightly to fasten the free ends of the covering in position thereby presenting an attractive appearing handle.

The handle attaching member A consists of a pair of spaced prongs 32, 34 which penetrate into top of the bag and are bent over. The prongs 32, 34 are joined to an upper cover portion 36 which supports a bearing 38 which pivotally holds the free end of the strap arm 18.

In Fig. 6 I show a modification of my invention wherein the welt 26A of the welted or beaded strip D1 is hollow and not solid.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as illustrative rather than as limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

A handle for baggage or luggage comprising a U-shaped strap having a web joining parallel free legs, means to connect each leg of said U-shaped member to a piece of luggage, a hand grip member having a longitudinal groove on the upper portion thereof and said groove located between parallel walls, a cover for said grip and having its free edges spaced apart, and terminating within said groove, a strip having a web and beads at each side of said web, the web of said strap lying within said groove and above the free edges of said cover, said beads being wedged between the side edges of the web of the strap and the cover on the inner side of the parallel walls and wherein said beads extend partly over the top side of said web of said strap, and means to fasten said web of said strap to said grip.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,724,601 Kellogg Aug. 13, 1929 1,869,081 Schemmel July 26, 1932 2,092,432 Tannewitz Sept. 7, 1937 2,370,711 Brody Mar. 6, 1945 2,652,908 Fuller Sept. 22, 1953 

